San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood is home to dozens of transient youths who voluntarily live on the street. Refusing money and possessing little except their 4-legged companions, this fringe movement is one of the cultural phenomenons that keep the neighborhood's hippie roots alive.

Home Free

Dogs are a treasured companion in street life. While animal activists accuse street kids of abusing and neglecting their pets, it soon became obvious that owners usually put their dogs' needs before their own.

Home Free

A beautiful dog by one of the many encampments at the entrance of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

Home Free

Contrary to speculation, street kids do not adopt stray dogs. When a female produces a litter, puppies are quickly spoken for.

Home Free

Although the majority of street kids are homeless by choice, groups can also accept other individuals. A man explains his history of misfortune and how he ended up living in Golden Gate Park, and his optimism to escape and find his family.

Home Free

Grassroots organizations like Taking It to the Streets take donations of groceries and clothing to help the street kids who want to get off the streets and back into society. Each week, volunteers prepare meals and distribute them to kids, building relationships and long-term trust.

Home Free

Grassroots organizations like Taking It to the Streets take donations of groceries and clothing to help the street kids who want to get off the streets and back into society. Each week, volunteers prepare meals and distribute them to kids, building relationships and long-term trust.

Home Free

Donations of clean clothing ready for distribution. The most popular request is always the same: Socks.

Home Free

Dozens of brown paper bags are lined up and ready to be packed for distribution by volunteers at Taking It to the Streets. All bread, jam, snacks, and fruit are donated by locally-owned businesses who take interest in building better community relationships with street kids.

Home Free

A box of fresh fruit ready for distribution by Taking It to the Streets. All food is donated by locally-owned businesses who take interest in building better community relationships with street kids.

Home Free

Volunteers distribute free clothing from a little red wagon in a grove of pine trees in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

Home Free

Christian Calinsky, founder and heart of Taking It to the Streets, was once a San Francisco homeless youth himself. He now holds a successful job as a body piercer. Under his leadership and vision, the organization has already become a powerful voice in City Hall and attained full funding for youth housing.

Home Free

A volunteer from Taking It to the Streets distributes donations of lip balm, baby wipes, and other camping essentials to the homeless youth in Golden Gate Park.

Home Free

A love of life still persists in San Francisco. "Hummingbird" believes in fighting for everyone's rights, not just for causes based on your religion, your species, or the color of your skin. She paints and sells her artwork in Berkeley, but never on Telegraph where the troublemakers get caught. She actively distances herself from them but because she lives under the trees, society assumes she and her dog Emma are part of the group.

Home Free

A puppy enjoys a toy while on his owner's blanket in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Animal activists argue that dogs of this community are neglected. Street kids insist their nomadic lifestyle under the sun is the way that nature intended.

Home Free

"Doses" and "Scumbelina" are two recent additions to the community. Sporting hand-stitched harnesses made from scrap leather, their owners show acts of tenderness that is unexpected from their tough demeanor.

Home Free

A street kid's companion, often wary of strangers, eagerly says hello once it is clear his owner approves.

Home Free

Two adolescent puppies in a youth encampment in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

Home Free

Three members of the Sweepers Program, an offshoot of Taking It to the Streets that provides homeless youth a place to live in exchange for daily hours cleaning Haight Street of litter and graffiti.

Home Free

Two sweepers from the Sweepers Program, homeless youth who work to clean Haight Street of litter each day in exchange for a place to live. The program allows street kids who want to get off the streets a chance to get job training and mentorship.

Home Free

Without a permanent place to live, Sweeper participants have to carry their possessions as they work. "Lyric" never lets go of his battered notebook and pens, even while picking up trash for 4 hours each afternoon.

Home Free

"Noelle," another of the Sweepers, brings her companion rabbit with her as she does the rounds on Haight Street. Without a permanent place to stay, it's cumbersome but safer to do her shift while carrying all her possessions.

Home Free

San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood is home to dozens of transient youths who voluntarily live on the street. Refusing money and possessing little except their 4-legged companions, this fringe movement is one of the cultural phenomenons that keep the neighborhood's hippie roots alive.

Home Free

Dogs are a treasured companion in street life. While animal activists accuse street kids of abusing and neglecting their pets, it soon became obvious that owners usually put their dogs' needs before their own.

Home Free

A beautiful dog by one of the many encampments at the entrance of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

Home Free

Contrary to speculation, street kids do not adopt stray dogs. When a female produces a litter, puppies are quickly spoken for.

Home Free

Although the majority of street kids are homeless by choice, groups can also accept other individuals. A man explains his history of misfortune and how he ended up living in Golden Gate Park, and his optimism to escape and find his family.

Home Free

Grassroots organizations like Taking It to the Streets take donations of groceries and clothing to help the street kids who want to get off the streets and back into society. Each week, volunteers prepare meals and distribute them to kids, building relationships and long-term trust.

Home Free

Grassroots organizations like Taking It to the Streets take donations of groceries and clothing to help the street kids who want to get off the streets and back into society. Each week, volunteers prepare meals and distribute them to kids, building relationships and long-term trust.

Home Free

Donations of clean clothing ready for distribution. The most popular request is always the same: Socks.

Home Free

Dozens of brown paper bags are lined up and ready to be packed for distribution by volunteers at Taking It to the Streets. All bread, jam, snacks, and fruit are donated by locally-owned businesses who take interest in building better community relationships with street kids.

Home Free

A box of fresh fruit ready for distribution by Taking It to the Streets. All food is donated by locally-owned businesses who take interest in building better community relationships with street kids.

Home Free

Volunteers distribute free clothing from a little red wagon in a grove of pine trees in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

Home Free

Christian Calinsky, founder and heart of Taking It to the Streets, was once a San Francisco homeless youth himself. He now holds a successful job as a body piercer. Under his leadership and vision, the organization has already become a powerful voice in City Hall and attained full funding for youth housing.

Home Free

A volunteer from Taking It to the Streets distributes donations of lip balm, baby wipes, and other camping essentials to the homeless youth in Golden Gate Park.

Home Free

A love of life still persists in San Francisco. "Hummingbird" believes in fighting for everyone's rights, not just for causes based on your religion, your species, or the color of your skin. She paints and sells her artwork in Berkeley, but never on Telegraph where the troublemakers get caught. She actively distances herself from them but because she lives under the trees, society assumes she and her dog Emma are part of the group.

Home Free

A puppy enjoys a toy while on his owner's blanket in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Animal activists argue that dogs of this community are neglected. Street kids insist their nomadic lifestyle under the sun is the way that nature intended.

Home Free

"Doses" and "Scumbelina" are two recent additions to the community. Sporting hand-stitched harnesses made from scrap leather, their owners show acts of tenderness that is unexpected from their tough demeanor.

Home Free

A street kid's companion, often wary of strangers, eagerly says hello once it is clear his owner approves.

Home Free

Two adolescent puppies in a youth encampment in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

Home Free

Three members of the Sweepers Program, an offshoot of Taking It to the Streets that provides homeless youth a place to live in exchange for daily hours cleaning Haight Street of litter and graffiti.

Home Free

Two sweepers from the Sweepers Program, homeless youth who work to clean Haight Street of litter each day in exchange for a place to live. The program allows street kids who want to get off the streets a chance to get job training and mentorship.

Home Free

Without a permanent place to live, Sweeper participants have to carry their possessions as they work. "Lyric" never lets go of his battered notebook and pens, even while picking up trash for 4 hours each afternoon.

Home Free

"Noelle," another of the Sweepers, brings her companion rabbit with her as she does the rounds on Haight Street. Without a permanent place to stay, it's cumbersome but safer to do her shift while carrying all her possessions.